After I had the chance to let the Steeler win and their impending trip to Dallas sink in on Sunday, I got to thinking how things have played out for Pittsburgh to get to and advance through the playoffs. Then, I remembered this little incident from their Week 12 win against the Bills.

I mean, think about that for a second and how that single play could've completely altered how things lined up for this team. Johnson makes that catch, Pittsburgh finishes 11-5 instead of 12-4. Now, I'm going to go ahead and assume that the rest of the season plays out as it did because I'm not looking to get into an incredibly deep discussion about how a loss in that game could've altered their approach going forward, resulting in different outcomes to future games (i.e. maybe they play more inspired ball versus the Jets the first time?) with ripple effects from those games, etc., etc.

So, if we assume that Pittsburgh finishes 11-5, that means that Baltimore takes the division title at 12-4 and locks up a weeks' rest with the #2 seed. The Steelers would then drop all the way the fuck down to the 6 seed (again, assuming they go on to lose to the Jets, so NY would own the tiebreaker over them) and be in a position similar to where they were in '08. They would've then had to go to Indy and accomplish what NY did against Manning and the practice squadders. If they managed to get by them, that would've meant a second date with Beardy and Hoodie at the Razor. The Jets would've gone to KC for a game that I think would've been closer, but likely had a similar outcome to the Ravens/Chiefs divisional matchup. Maybe KC pulls off an upset there, who knows. Either way, the winner would've moved on to face the Ravens in their place while Pittsburgh traveled to New England for a rematch.

And, to be brutally honest, I don't have the slightest idea how either of those games would've played out and who would've moved on to the AFCC game. One thing's for sure, it would've involved another week of travel for Pittsburgh. And, not getting the bye would've resulted in one less week for Troy, Ben and the rest of the wounded to rest up.

There are so many of those that you can pull up over the course of a season that I don't think you can ever really "go" there. In that same game, you could say: "If James Harrison doesn't get called for a BS PFoul...," etc. You can do the same thing for any team in the NFL. For or against.

But your choice is a pretty astute one. I honestly don't think we beat the Pats if we had to take that route. At the same time, if this team proves anything, it's that they cannot ever be counted out of any game in any situation. They seem to have an unbelievable knack for making the right play at the right time, and have two players on either side of the ball (Ben and Troy) who know how to come up big at the right time.

There is a degree of luck in every Super Bowl win. But I am also convinced that winning teams make their own luck most of the time. Still, a gift every now and then is nice, and Johnson certainly gave us one.

There are so many of those that you can pull up over the course of a season that I don't think you can ever really "go" there. In that same game, you could say: "If James Harrison doesn't get called for a BS PFoul...," etc. You can do the same thing for any team in the NFL. For or against.

I'm sorry, but I respectfully disagree. Johnson dropping a wide open pass in OT that would've won Buffao the game is not the same as a blown foul call or even a missed FG.

99 times out of a 100, he makes that catch and it's a big fat "L." Ball was right in his hands. Gift of epic proportions.

After the WC upset, the Seahawks were the "team of destiny." Their destiny was to lose to the Bears, promptly and decisively. Then all attention switched back to the true "team of destiny," the HMS Titanic Patriots. Then destiny switched to the J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets!

All of which is to say, sometimes your destiny is to fail so others can succeed.

Thank you, Stevie Johnson, for fulfilling your destiny. Yes, the Lord works in strange and wonderful ways. Someone's gotta be the lion, and someone's gotta be the gazelle. Amen. Burp.

Well, one thing this brings up is how our Super Bowl years have not generally been ones where we were clearly the best team throughout the season, and that many of our games involved close victories. This feeds the trolls who say "the Steelers are just lucky" or "the Colts were the best team in '05, the Patriots in '10," and so on and so forth.

All I can say is, that every year, generally, the Colts or Patriots are the champs of October, looking like world-beaters. So what? Yeah, the current Steelers have never jumped out to a 10-1 start or whatever, but we're not built that way. We are built to outlast other teams.

Every year it's the same thing: The Redskins are the champions of the offseason, the Lions have the "best draft," the Colts or Patriots capture the famed October Trophy, and the Steelers win the title in the playoffs. I like it.